Game board



L. A. MARSH GAME BOARD DCC. 9

Dec. 9, 1924. 1,518,340

L. A. MARsH GAME BOARD lFiled Nov, 21, 1922 2 sheets-sheet a 27 /4' jjj '7' A f Iz I J6 L *l i i rg J6 26a 221) ws 2,1 W5 w? zo@ INVENTOR.

LUC/EN A. MAPS/7. BY Mdm.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

LUGIEN A.. MARSH, 0F 'MILL VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

GAME

BOARD.

Application lcd November 21, 1922. Seriall No. 602,311.6.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I. LUCIEN A. MARSH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mill Valley, county of Marin, and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Game Boards, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is particularly concerned with a game board designed to eX- pedite the playing of the oriental game commonly known as Mah jongg or Chinese checkers. This game is played with a number of flat oblong playing pieces, which, at the beginning of the game are placed in four single rows arranged to form a perfect square. In the game this is termed building the wall. The sides of this square each comprises an equal number of the playing pieces and for the convenience of all of the players it is desirable that the square be formed as nearly as possible in the center of the table or game board so as to insure accuracy and uniformity in the setting up of the pieces and to provide each player with an equal and adequate amount of playing space between the. square and the edge of the board or table.

It has been found difficult and tedious to arrange the playing pieces in proper position and correct number to form the square, usually requiring considerable time which detracts from the players interest in the game. Therefore, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a game board particularly adapted for the playing of the game Mah jongg, which board is provided with means so arranged that walls 0f the playing pieces may be. easily and quickly arranged and trued in correct proportions and location.

The invent-ion contemplates the use of game board having its playing surface formed with means arranged in square formation to accommodate a predetermined number of playing pieces.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in plan of the preferred yforni of the invention, with parts broken laway to more clearly disclose its construction.

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. a is a perspective view of the channel filler member.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the operating slide. i

F ig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the playing pieces.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, 10 designates a game board of preferred proportions, having a playing surface 11 and raised marginal edge 12. The board here shown is formed with connected channels 14: of equal dimensions arranged in a square as shown. Although other means might be used if desired the square formed by the channels is preferably located centrally of the board so as to provide playing spaces 15 of equal area on all four sides of the square.

The raised marginal edges of the board is formed by side members 16 secured about the perimeter of the board. The side members may be of any height sutlicient to maintain the board slightly elevated from its support. In this instance the side members are rabbeted along their inner surface to accommodate the top of a standard card table, as shown in dotted lines at 17 in Figure 2. These tables are fitted with legs 18 and are of a proportion agreeing with the surface area of a board for playing Mah jongg.

The oriental game of Mah jongg alluded to, in some respects resembles the game known as dominoes, inasmuch as it is played with flat oblong playing pieces 18a of equal size. One surface of these pieces is marked with distinctive characters or illustrations, representing different factors of the game. In commencing the game, the playing pieces are arranged in four connected straight rows forming a square to build what is termed a wall. It is necessary that the rows contain an equal number of pieces and it is for this reason that the playing surface of the board 10 is formed with the channels 1li. The dimensions of the inner edge of each channel exactly agrees with the overall dimension of a row of pieces built of a predetermined number.

In the connected channels 14, is mounted a vertically movable filler member 19 which may be raised so that its upper surface is flush with the playing surface of the board or lowered below the board surface so as to provide recesses for the reception of the playing pieces as described.

It should be statedvthat it is necessary at times for the surface of the board to be unbroken so that the playing pieces may be shuffled about with their charactered faces down, this takes place previous to starting agame, and if desired these fillers may be `used to delineate the square without forming Athe channel.

'Secured beneath the playing board are a plurality of brace members 2() which serve to firmly brace the board and to guide a rcciprocable slide 21. This slide is formed of rigidly connected end men'ibersQZ and side members 23, the latter are guided in recesses formed in the brace members 20. The Vslifcileis' positioned directly below the filler 19 and is providedwith ycams 25 which co- "opeifatfewith cams' on the filler to raise "and lowery the latter when the slide is recipaftedl The forward movement of the is vvliifnited by the engagement of the end ineinherV22 and the brace 2Oa as shown in 1. The forward movement is suflicient vfor the cams to raise the upper surface of the filler 19 flush with the playing surface 'of the board. l y

Reference being had to Fig. 3 it is seen that vthe inward movement of the slide is limited bythe front end member 22 engaging the brace 2Gb. Vihen the slide is in its `in nermost .position the upper surface of the filler Ais a distance below the surface of playing board forming the. recesses described for theac'commodation of the playing pieces.

"Il lfeslidenmay be reciprocated by a rod y26 fitted with aknob 27 located at one side ofthe gaine board.

y, In use, the device is mounted on a suitable support and. playing pieces of the game are Yspread!out vover the playing surface of the :board and shufiled. During this operation theffille'r, is maintained flush with the suri'face off theboard. n u; Itv is obviousv that the raised marginal lwedge ofthe board will prevent the pieces l:fronti falling over the edge of the board and becoming lost.` Y y hen the` pieces have been suliiciently file fthevliller 19 may be lowered form- :ingtconne'cted channels to define a square lii'itowhich, lchannels the pieces are placed to build awall. yAs the channel is of a width nl lightly greater than the length of the piecesand of a length to accommodate a required ,number ofthe pieces, it is obvious 'at thefwall may be easily iand quickly y 1il'tand`will contain thec'orrect number of pieces, Vy

:It hould bestated that the game may be ayed with twodifferentquantities of playing pieces, and to accommodate the smaller e, which is intended to raise the filler,V

quantity. The fillers are marked at the cor-- ners as at 28. The distance between these marks on each side of the square is suflicient to accommodate a certain known number of playing pieces.

From the foregoing it is obvious that l 'have provided a comparatively simple gaine board upon which walls of playing pieces may be easily and quickly arranged. AlsoA` that the walls will contain a predetermined number of playing pieces without necessi tating counting by the players.

lllhile l have shown and described the preferred form of my invention as .now known to me, it is to be understood that v:1 rious changes in the construction, combina tion and arrangement of the various paris employed my be made by those skilled ni the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having' thus described my invention, what l clainii and desire to secure by Leiters l3nt ent is: 4

l. in a game board for use in playing a game employing flat oblong playin g pier-rs, said board comprising a playing surface. guide means forn'ied around the center ol' said playing surface and normally intorrupt-ing said playing surface whereby to assist in forming four walls of said playing pieces arranged at right angles, and nie-ans for operating said guide means to dispose the same in a position uninterrupting said playing surface.

2. A game hoard having a playing surface, said surface being formed with :i plurality of elongated compa atively shallow recesses arranged lo form a square. and :i movable member forming the bottom o I1 said Vrecesses and .means for operating said inem-- ber whereby it may be raised flush with the playing surface of the board.

3. A game board having a playing surface, said surface being formed with a plurality of elongated connected recesses arranged in a square, a movable member mounted in said recesses forming the bottom thereof, and operable means for niaintaining the member flush with the playing surface or maintaining it a certain distant-i1 below the playingjsurface.

L1. A game board having a play/fine face, said surface beingformed with a phi ralityof elongated connected slots arranged in a square, aliller frame mounted in said slots, a reciprocable slide supporting said filler frame, and cooperating cam means interposed between the filler frame and the slide whereby movement of the slide in one direction will raise the filler frame 'flush with the playing surface Yand niovenient of the slide in the opposite direction will lower the frame to a distance below the play lll() ing surface whereby to form a plurality of elongated connected recesses.

A device of the character described comprising a fiat game board top constituting a playing field, side members secured around the perimeter of the top and projecting a distance below the same, a plurality of elongated rectangular slots formed in the game board top and arranged at right angles to eachother, a movable member in each slot, operable means for raising` and lowering said members in the slots whereby they may be maintained flush with the playing surface of the game board top or a distance below the same to form guide channels to receive playing pieces of the game, said side members being rabbeted along their inner surfaces at their lower edges to receive and embrace a table top whereby to support the game board top at a distance above the table top.

6. A game board having a playing surface, said surface being formed with a plurality of elongated slots arranged at right angles to each other, a bottom member for each slot, and operable means for optionally controlling said bottom members whereby they may be maintained ush with the playing surface or a distance below the same.

7. A game board for use in playing a game employing fiat oblong playing pieces, said board comprising a fiat top constituting a playing surface, said top being cut to form a square a-t its center, the portion of the top immediately surrounding said square being vertically movable, and means for vertically moving said movable portion of the top whereby the marginal edges of said square will constitute guides against which walls of said playing pieces may be built, the length of the sides of said square being such as to accommodate a predetermined number of playing pieces.

8. A game board for use in playing a game employing fiat oblong playing pieces. said board comprising a flat top constituting a playing surface, and means for raising or lowering portions of said top to form guide means arranged in a square about the center of the top, said guide means being adapted to assist in forming walls containing equal numbers of playing pieces.

LUCIEN A. MARSH. 

